Cutting Health Care Costs: Doctor Visits

Dec. 10, 2008 -- If you're watching your budget these days -- and who isn't -- you may be wondering if you can afford your doctor visits and medical tests.

Skipping those appointments could be risky. So here are 11 dos and don'ts from a cardiologist and family medicine doctor on ways to lighten the cost of your medical appointments without sacrificing your health.

1. Do follow through with preventive care.

"You've got to take care of your health, because it's your most important resource," Christie Ballantyne, MD, tells WebMD.

Preventive care is especially important in high-stress times because stress can take its toll on your health, says Ballantyne, who directs the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at the Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center and is a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Ballantyne advises seeing your doctor to "make sure you're not having a worsening of your health due to the stress you're under."

"It's a little bit like the saying 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away' ... a walk a day keeps the bills low," says Ballantyne, adding that you don't have to lose drastic amounts of extra weight because even modest weight loss makes a difference.

You needn't spend money on a gym; walking is free. "If you feel stressed, go out and take a walk," Ballantyne says. "You'll feel better and you will have helped lower your bill of health."

And if you quit smoking, not needing cigarette money is a financial bonus on top of better health.

3. Do negotiate with your doctor, or the financial counselor at your doctor's office, about medical test costs.

Scheduled for a costly medical test that you can't afford? Ballantyne suggests asking your doctor, "Do I have to have this test now? Could I have it next year?"